LANCASTER, Pa. – The Messiah University Women's Lacrosse team was in action in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament against the Diplomats of Franklin & Marshall on Sunday afternoon. After a hard-fought battle, the Falcons dropped the contest 15-11 to the Diplomats. After trailing 8-5 at halftime, the Falcons battled back to tie the score 9-9. Four goals from each team in the third quarter brought the score to 12-9 heading into the final quarter. The Diplomats outlasted the Falcons and earned the 15-11 win. With the loss, Messiah concludes the season with a record of 14-5.

First Quarter
After four goals from Franklin & Marshall in the first four minutes of the game, a turnover caused by Regan Gillisse caused a ground ball recovery for Addyson Wagman that started an offensive push for Messiah. Grace Pettitt used a move in the front of the net to secure Messiah's first goal of the game with 9:20 remaining on the clock. The Diplomats fired off three more shots in the quarter with Grace Hejeebu making three saves while Hayley Lettinga fired a shot for the Falcons that was saved by the Diplomats' goalie.

Second Quarter
Messiah earned back-to-back free position attempts and Jordan Lewicki was able to net the free position goal a minute into the second quarter to cut the deficit to two. Annalise Keitel and Alina Bernal-Clark each had a shot saved before Grace Pettitt found the back of the net with 9:24 left in the half to cut the Diplomats lead to 4-3. After a timeout by Franklin & Marshall, the Diplomats scored four straight to extend their lead to 8-3 with 2:07 left in the half. Annalise Keitel found Hannah Gawne for a man-up goal before Katie Bukiewicz secured the draw control and scored with 21 seconds remaining in the half. A Franklin & Marshall shot with seven seconds left was saved by Grace Hejeebu to keep the score 8-5 in favor of Franklin & Marshall heading into half time.

Third Quarter
The Diplomats scored a minute into the second half and the Falcons scored two minutes later when Hayley Lettinga notched a free position goal to bring the score to 9-6 in favor of Franklin & Marshall. Grace Pettitt scored an unassisted goal before Annalise Keitel found Brynn Johnsen for a man-up goal to cut the deficit to one with a score of 9-8 with 8:38 remaining. Grace Hejeebu made two saves in goal before the Falcons were awarded with a free position attempt. Katie Bukiewicz made a pass to Grace Pettitt who slotted it past the goalie to tie the score 9-9 with 5:10 left in the quarter. After a Franklin & Marshall timeout, the Diplomats scored three unanswered goals to take a 12-9 lead into the final quarter of play.

Fourth Quarter
Franklin & Marshall looked to strike early but Grace Hejeebu was able to make the save. Katie Bukiewicz was the next to fire a shot with 8:11 on the clock but it was saved by the Diplomats' goalie. Franklin and Marshall scored three goals to take a 15-9 lead with 6:10 remaining. Grace Pettitt scored an unassisted goal before finding Alina-Bernal Clark to cut the deficit to four at 15-11. Grace Hejeebu made a save with just under two minutes remaining before the Falcons fired four shots but were unable to score in the remaining minutes and the Diplomats earned the 15-11 win.

Stats
Grace Pettitt led the Falcons with five goals and an assist. Alina Bernal-Clark, Hayley Lettinga, Katie Bukiewicz, Brynn Johnsen, Hannah Gawne, and Jordan Lewicki each notched a goal for Messiah. Annalise Keitel caused two turnovers while collecting three ground balls. Grace Hejeebu made 13 saves in goal for Messiah.